I've always had an estate car. Currently a VW Passat, but I've had a Volvo V50, an Audi A3 and a BMW 3 series. All of them have managed to fit amp, effects, cable box, stands and three guitars in the back.

Room is one thing you might need, but the next thing to think about is the lip for the tailgate. Look for the lowest one as even on an estate car, it can get old dragging things in and out.

I like it so much that when my old one was written off (not my fault!) I immediately went and bought another one. If it matters, I could get an Ampeg 6x10" cab and SVT head *in the boot* without even needing to fold the seats.

Once you've used an MPV, all other types of cars seem the wrong shape.

"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

Nissan Leaf. Eliminates all those worries about waking the neighbours with a (suddenly hellishly loud although it seems perfectly civilised during the day) diesel engine when you get home at 3:00 AM... :-)

I used to get 3 guitars, a 1x12 combo, a big pedalboard and chunky bag of cables etc in a Corsa every week.

Before that we used to put 4 guitars in hardcases, a Laney VC15, a Vox Valvetronix 1x12, a pedalboard, a couple of bags of cables, a snare drum & cymbals, and a Yamaha clavinova (and stand) in the back of a Polo in under 5 minutes.

My conclusion is that anything not hilariously small is absolutely fine unless you're shit at gear-tetris.

I had two of those - they have a surprising amount of space inside - it's not massively long front-to-back but it's tall and very usefully square. With the back seats down (or removed) it's like a little van, and with the variable boot floor there's no lip to lift over.

I've had a 4X4 truck, an Austin Maxi, A Volvo estate, Several large saloon cars and the surprise of the bunch, Skoda octavia estate. Huge boot space (not massive headroom like a 4X4), economical, easy to drive/park, reliable.

Is the vehicle purely for lugging kit? Or do you need it to be a family car during the rest of the week?Do you care if it has the acceleration of a tranquilised 3 legged Rhino climbing a hill?

The Bigsby was the first successful design of what is now called a
whammy bar or tremolo arm, although vibrato is the technically correct
term for the musical effect it produces. In standard usage, tremolo is a
rapid fluctuation of the volume of a note, while vibrato is a
fluctuation in pitch. The origin of this nonstandard usage of the term
by electric guitarists is attributed to Leo Fender, who also used the
term “vibrato” to refer to what is really a tremolo effect.

I have a Fiat Panda and I find it's excellent for a reasonable amount of gear. My usual load out is amp head (Egnator Rebel), 1x12 cab, double guitar bag, pedaltrain jnr in flightcase, laptop bag with cables and a rucksack. Everything bar the pedaltrain can go in the boot with judicious packing. The pedal board goes behind the passenger seat. I took 3/4 of the drum kit to one gig, it made hills a bit dicey but the good old Panda got there!

As long as you're under 5'10, the Panda is a pretty comfortable ride.

"As with all things, some days you're the dinosaur, some days you're the monkey." Sporky

It's the lip I always found annoying when moving gear. Only had two cars with none and they were fantastic in that respect.

Everyday driving is generally me going to work, or with wifey for groceries or a spin. Sometimes lifting grandchildren. So no real need for a 7-seater. Five door is nice, as its easier to slide the bass behind the front seats.